Vern Southern Medical Expenses Fund

$1,305
of $6,600 goal

On February 4, 2018 I was confused and unable to answer simple questions. My wife, Cynthia fearing I was having a stroke, called 911. Firefighters and paramedics arrived in a few short minutes to our home. My confusion was caused by a blood sugar of 31. 110 is normal.

I was taken to Medical Center of Aurora which is a Level II Trauma Center in the Denver Metro Area. During my nine day admission at the hospital I was diagnosed with influenza, pneumonia, stage 4 kidney failure, fluid overload pulmonary edema, acute hypoxemic and hypercapnic respiratory failure.

I will be seeing a specialist at Colorado Kidney Care on March 12, 2018 to learn all about the recommended treatment for stage 4 kidney failure. They will be mapping my veins to get me ready for future dialysis treatments.

In June and July 2017, I was in the hospital twice for kidney stone complications and kidney stone removal. Our insurance pays 80% leaving us with an out of pocket liabiity of $6,600. We had to struggle to pay it and now we are going to have to do it again. Cynthia took money out of her retirement IRA and now her student loan servicer is claiming it is extra income and decided to raise her monthly payment from $214 to over $500.

We have not recovered from the financial difficulties of last year and now find ourselves back in the same situation. We are getting buried in debt and trying to avoid bankruptcy.

Cynthia and I need your help. We are asking everyone we know for help. Anything you can donate is greatly appreciated. All of the funds donated will be used for medical expenses.

Update on Vern's chronic kidney disease stage 4: He has been struggling with fluid retention in his legs and is taking two diuretics now under the supervision of his PCP and nephrologist. He had gained 25 pounds of fluid but is losing it now.

He finally saw a nephrologist yesterday. We scheduled the appointment two months ago. Our first nephrologist appointment for him on 03/12/18 was cancelled by the provider. We went to a different doctor and office yesterday at Rose Medical Center, which we feel is the best hospital in Denver. There is a shortage of nephrologists in Denver.

His nephrologist is happy with his kidney lab panel he had done on 04/10/18 and said he is nowhere close to needing dialysis. His creatinine was 3.3 and his GFR (the number which indicates the filtration and function rate of the kidneys) was 19. Those are better than labs done at the end of February. He reassured him he isn't close to needing dialysis at this time. He indicated it might be a year or two before he needs it.

He needs to have periodic lab work done, appointments with a nephrology nurse practitioner and with his PCP. We will both be taking a class all about chronic kidney disease in the nephrology office on 05/31. We were promised it is very in depth and educational. Our goal is to become fully educated on the subject and his treatment options/ information about those. We took a DaVita 'Kidney Smart' webinar class which was very helpful. This is apparently even more in depth education.

Vern has decided to have vein mapping done by a vascular surgeon for the placement of an AV Fistula, the gold standard for hemodialysis vascular access. It takes many months for it to heal and to mature. A vein is attached to an artery. The vascular surgeon will be calling Vern soon to schedule a time for the vein mapping. The ambulatory surgery will follow soon after. He and I have decided this is the best option in case he ever needs dialysis. It is an insurance method for access. The other methods are fraught with infection and are not reliable like an AV fistula in the arm.

He follows his renal and cardiac diets religiously and takes all of his medication as directed. All the thoughts and prayers are extremely healing and I believe the reason his health hasn't declined. We will keep everyone updated.

I hope everyone is well. Cynthia and I want to thank the people who have donated so far. We are hoping everyone else can afford a small donation of $5, $10, $20 or any amount you can afford. I know times are tough and everyone is doing the best they can. God Bless you all.